Who’s Marking the Homework? The Hidden Risks in IBM i & AIX Outsourcing

Who's Marking the Homework?
Why Independent Oversight Matters for IBM i, AIX and Linux Managed Services

In the world of managed services, trust is a given but verification is too often an afterthought. This is particularly true for organisations that have outsourced their IBM Power workloads (IBM i and AIX), or their broader infrastructure including Linux, to a managed service provider (MSP).

The assumption is simple: "We’ve signed a contract, they’ve agreed to deliver, it’ll be fine."

But here’s the problem: the contract is only as strong as the oversight that enforces it.

The Hidden Risk of Outsourcing

One recurring theme we see across the industry is that customers place all their trust in the service contract, but rarely, if ever, validate what’s actually being delivered. There’s an expectation that the MSP will manage the day-to-day operations, apply necessary updates, and keep the estate secure without the customer ever needing to check.

In practice, this level of blind trust creates real risk.

The most successful managed service relationships we’ve seen involve someone on the customer side who not only holds the MSP to account but also understands the platform and its critical role in the business. However, when organisations outsource platforms like IBM i or AIX, they often choose to let go of those specific skills sometimes viewing the platforms as legacy, or simply finding it difficult to retain or recruit the right expertise in today’s market.

The outcome is the same: there’s often no one left internally who can say with confidence whether the MSP is doing things properly or cutting corners.

Real-World Findings: Serious Gaps Hidden in Plain Sight

At Baby Blue, we’ve been brought in to review environments where IBM i systems hadn’t received a single PTF (Program Temporary Fix) update since 2020 despite being under managed service contracts the entire time.

In some cases, firmware levels were over 60 versions behind, leaving businesses exposed to avoidable operational and security risks. Worse still, we’ve seen examples where providers pulled customer environments into their own cloud infrastructure at the start of the contract and then did little or nothing from that point on.

On paper, the service is “delivered”. In reality, the customer is paying for little to no value.

Security Posture: The Silent Casualty

Nowhere is this more dangerous than in the area of security.

Without platform-specific oversight, businesses may never know if security patches are missing, if configuration drift is introducing new vulnerabilities, or if their backup and recovery processes are being regularly tested and validated.

And when something does go wrong, the damage is already done.

Why Independent Reviews Are Essential

What’s needed is a periodic, independent check by people who genuinely understand IBM Power systems and Linux environments. Not a generalist audit, and not a box-ticking exercise. But a real, technical review that provides assurance the MSP is delivering on their obligations.

At Baby Blue, we provide just that.

Our reviews focus on the operational health and security posture of your systems. We assess the effectiveness of patching, monitoring, access control, and backup regimes, providing clear, actionable insights you can use to challenge your provider if necessary.

This gives you a way to reintroduce accountability into the relationship, even if the technical skills are no longer in-house.

When to Consider a Review

An independent review makes sense if:

• You’ve fully outsourced your IBM Power or Linux estate.
• Internal platform expertise has been lost or reduced.
• You have concerns about service levels, responsiveness, or security.
• Ownership or personnel has changed at your MSP.
• You’re entering a critical phase of transformation or risk assessment.

A* > D-

Outsourcing isn’t inherently risky but unchecked outsourcing is. If you no longer have the skills to validate the delivery of critical IBM i, AIX, or Linux services, then external, expert oversight becomes essential.

At Baby Blue, we help you regain control not by taking over the service, but by ensuring you’re getting the service you’re paying for.

Because in the end, if no one’s marking the homework, you may not know what grade you’re really getting.